Aura Bar & Kitchen

Great food, great drinks, great service, and THE BEST staff.I hosted 9 of my gal pals here for a ladies night, and we had a blast. They easily accommodated our group and were super attentive -- couldn't have asked for more! Can't wait to go back!!

Just know the reviews are so high for a reason. This was such a great place to visit. Had an exceptional experience at Aura Bar & Kitchen! We started with the Goat Cheese Bruschetta, which was the perfect balance of creamy and tangy, followed by the Garlic Shrimp -- cooked to perfection with a burst of flavor. The burger was juicy, tender, and definitely one of the best I've had in a while. The gnocchi was light, fluffy, and complemented with a rich sauce.The Pomegranate Mezcal cocktail was a standout, expertly crafted with just the right amount of sweetness and smokiness. Jesse the bartender was amazing, offering great drink recommendations and ensuring everything was perfect. Our waiter was attentive and friendly, making the entire experience even more enjoyable. Highly recommend this spot for anyone looking for a great meal and top-notch service!

I went here recently with a group of friends. There weren't any seats available inside, but they let us sit on the back patio. For starters we ordered the grilled octopus and it was AMAZING! For my main dish I ordered the bolognese, which wasn't the best. It tasted super watery and overall wasn't my favorite. I did really like the ambiance of the place and the servers/bartenders were friendly enough.

When we walked into the cozy restaurant in East Village, the server greeted us warmly, making us feel right at home. It was the perfect spot for a relaxed dinner with friends.We started with an antipasto board filled with tasty meats and cheeses, which was a great way to begin our meal. The best dish for us was the cacio e pepe; it was really creamy and had just the right amount of seasoning. The Bolognese, though, wasn't as good as we hoped. It needed more flavor.The side dishes were great, especially the truffle fries. They were super crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. We also really liked the tuna tartare, which was fresh and had savory guacamole mixed in. Even though not everything was perfect, we still had a great time. The friendly service and the cozy place made our dinner special. It was a fun night with tasty food, perfect for hanging out together.

Aura had amazing drinks! We also got a small plate of tapas to share and it was delicious. Service was amazing, Andreas was so sweet and attentive and was willing to play along with some typical dad humor

I walked in with a friend on a Saturday night. They have happy hour margaritas which were strong and tasted good. We had truffle fries which were tasty. The servers were very friendly. I'd be curious to come again and try the entrees.

Food was great, ambience was cute. There was a slight mishap with our order (they forgot to put it in) but the waiter made it up to us with shots and extra food. I was very happy with this spot and I'm planning to go back.

My boyfriend and I stopped here completely by accident- we were trying to go to a place a couple doors down, however, they were closed temporarily for a private event at the bar. With a little disappointment, we decided to walk down the street to find somewhere else to get the drinks we wanted so badly. This is when we stumbled across Aura Bar & Kitchen. The bar is small, and it was pretty busy considering it was a Saturday evening! A man (the owner) named Jesse immediately greeted us and coaxed us to two seats at the very end of the bar and made us feel extremely welcome at his establishment. To get to the main part of the review, we started off our time there with the Toscana Bruschetta and a couple of drinks. I ordered the Seratonin cocktail (even though I usually don't enjoy blue curacao) and my boyfriend ordered his go-to, an Old Fashioned. Toscana Bruschetta: Delicious and refreshing appetizer that did not disappoint whatsoever. It was the perfect size for the two of us and the flavours worked very well together to create the perfect bruschetta that made my palette sing. 10/10 recommend this appetizer to anyone that enjoys bruschetta!Seratonin Cocktail: Beautifully done drink with a gorgeous blue-green hue that tastes as good as it sounds. Despite there being two ingredients I don't tend to care for (blue curacao and tequila) I can genuinely say that I loved this drink as a starter to the evening and didn't even notice the things I don't like, that's how pleasant the cocktail is. Old Fashioned: Crafted using Four Roses Bourbon as the well, my boyfriend is notoriously picky about his Old Fashioned drinks and said that this bar makes the best one he has ever tasted in his life. You can tell that Frankie (the bartender) really knows what he's doing with this drink (and all of the drinks that he crafts). After that rockstar start to our journey, we ordered the Fried Calamari and two more drinks. I got the Purple Dream and my boyfriend got the Espresso Martini. Fried Calamari: Calamari is one dish that is always hit or miss at restaurants I've noticed. Luckily, Aura is one of the places that absolutely does not miss and knocked the poor calamari into orbit. It was crisp, fresh, not too oily, and the tzatziki we ordered rather than the marinara sauce (in Canada we commonly serve calamari with tzatziki and NOT marinara) was phenomenal. The tzatziki tasted like it had just been made within the past ten minutes, and not like it had been pre-made hours before and then served at a later point. Espresso Martini: By far the smoothest espresso martini I've had the pleasure of trying. We watched them prepare the espresso shots right from our seats so we know it was not JUST a coffee liquor used in the cocktail as a lot of other bars and restaurants will do (a cheap parlour trick on other bars if you ask me). Purple Dream: My favourite drink I've ever tasted in the 25 years I've been alive. Let me tell you, this drink is absolutely dangerous. It's smooth, it's delicious, it's refreshing, it's fruity, and it's subtly strong and that's the recipe for getting me way too wasted in one evening. The drink is served with a skewer of fresh blueberries which I loved eating once the drink was (sadly) finished. I was already very drunk after my two drinks (fuck being short and having a very low tolerance for alcoholic beverages!) so I didn't get any other ones, but my boyfriend got a third drink called The Luna. Throughout the evening, Jesse also provided us with these delicious black pita chips that were flaky and tasted amazing when dipped in the tzatziki we'd gotten with the calamari. The Luna: My boyfriend can't remember but he did love it! I don't recall trying this one, however, it came from Frankie and Aura so I'm going to go ahead and recommend it anyways! :) Jesse took great time and pride in speaking to us throughout the evening and truly made us feel like family and friends while we drank and ate at his business throughout the evening. A lot of time, love and care has clearly gone into this business. Jesse uses top of the line products not only in his drinks and food, but the environment in general is well thought out and executed. He uses high quality decor, and I know this is going to sound silly but I was even impressed that in the bathroom he uses the Simply Human brand of trashcan. It's all about the details, okay?To wrap this up for people that don't like to read novel length reviews...Drinks: Phenomenal and out of this world delicious. Fairly priced as well considering everywhere in NYC is insanely priced for, in my opinion, cheap tasting, shitty drinks that don't even taste good.Food: Scrumptious and had me craving more and more. Also very fairly priced and high, high quality. We will for sure be back the next time we visit the Big Apple and highly recommend this restaurant and bar to anyone that has never been; you will NOT be disappointed with your visit here, guaranteed.

This place is a hidden gem! They have great happy hour specials ($5 beer and shots, $8 wine, $12 cocktails) & 10 dollar flavored & regular margs every day!! Our server, Andres, was the nicest ever and made us feel at home. We tried a variety of cocktails & foods, from margs to espresso martinis to wine and everyone liked their drinks. My friend ordered the truffle fries and brussels sprouts and raved about the sprouts! We also tried the figgy piggy bruschetta which was delish and the drunk gnocchi which was so good and indulgent. I will definitely be bringing all of my friends here!!

Great food an amazing service. Came here for a date nightWould go back here again anytime